maudmont's reviews
291 reviews

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Azula in the Spirit Temple by Faith Erin Hicks

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An eerie and interesting explanation of Azula's character.
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy by Faith Erin Hicks

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Once again, the graphic novels portray Toph perfectly, and further prove that Legend Of Korra's decision to make her not only a cop but the inventor of cops is the worst and shittiest thing that show ever did.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I have so many thoughts about this book. I read it in one sitting, I stayed up til 3 AM to finish it. I screamed, I laughed, I was fanning myself and HOOO BABY-ing. So obviously it did something right. But it was so weirdly paced and the plot focused on many things at the expense of things that were more important for the genre? This book wanted to be a taboo romance novel but it was SO bogged-down by morality and justification that it stopped being a romance novel for the whole middle chunk, which  made the whole thing anti-climactic. But the non-romance plot was also really underdeveloped? Make it make sense. I'm bummed because I wanted to love this.
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 14%.
DNF at 14%. HUGE fan of TGCF, but this one bounced right off of me. It's all over the place, and this is not my first danmei, so it must just be the quality of this specific translation that makes it so hard to follow. Some of the word choices seem out of place. Unfortunate.
Shut Up You're Pretty by Téa Mutonji

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3.25

A very honest, beautifully written set of stories. I don't think it was quite as profound as it was meaning to, and I'm a little emotionally exhausted from it, but it wasn't bad and the prose was really good, so I can't give it too bad of a rating.
My first audio book ever! the narration is a bit robotic in places, but not terrible.
Wenjack by Joseph Boyden

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challenging emotional reflective sad

3.75

Beautiful, heart-breaking, poignant, and a far-too real, too commonplace story. Important all the same.
The Broposal by Sonora Reyes

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

1.0

 Too-much-going-on-itis. And the pacing was whack. The fake marriage plot, ostensibly the point of the book, didn't get going until a quarter of the way through, which made the last quarter so rushed and chaotic. Also, the heaviness of the themes/events outside of the romance were WAY too much for a book with a goofy title like The Broposal. It is a romcom, it should not be this serious. Between the psycho ex, the immigration stuff and the shitty workplace drama, this book couldn't decide what it wanted to be, but it definitely wasn't anything very enjoyable. The romance was cute I guess but the sex/emotional climax was flat and overshadowed by everything else going on. And don't even get me started on how out of place the kink part is. This whole book is a mess.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This one is significantly better than the first. Arthur is a WAY better POV character than Linus was. This cast of characters is honestly the most lovable and unique group you'll get anywhere; I laughed out loud so many times reading about these kids and their shenanigans. This book is a big queer hug with a sweet, wish-fulfilling ending that even my "but life never works out like that" ass can't be mad at.
Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert

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fast-paced

1.75

Listen. I don't expect sex books to be the peak of literary art. But this was all tell and no show, and the sex wasn't even good enough to justify the stunning lack of plot. Again, I KNOW the plot isn't the point, but why bother having a whole vampire politics family feud thing if you're just going to half-ass it like this? I gave this author a second chance with this one but I won't be giving her a third.
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I liked this one just a little bit better than the first. I will say, the clunky exposition about sworn soldiers and stuff that was in the first book pays dividends in this one, as you get a real sense of Gallacian culture. This book has the same dark whimsy as its predecessor. I wish we had learned more about the Moroi's identity as the story unfolded rather than in one paragraph after everything was over. Still, this was an enjoyable read. I really do love Alex Easton as a character, and I hope we get more.